Sauerkraut

Fresh sauerkraut is a revelation in taste and texture if you have experienced only the canned kind, which is (through no fault of its own) too soft and too acid. Making your own crisp, pale-gold kraut is quite feasible as soon as “winter” cabbage—the kind with firm, white heads —is in the market. (Don’t use green, early-maturing kinds.)

Traditional methods call for covering the salted cabbage with a cloth and a sterile board, plus weights, to keep the brine above the level of the ca